ANAHEIM, Calif. — Josh Lowe did not describe the Los Angeles Angels‘ plan against Jacob deGrom as anything complicated.
The Angels had 5 hits against the Texas Rangers right-hander in the second inning Thursday. Two runs scored before deGrom left with right triceps fatigue.
“Getting to deGrom early today was great,” Lowe said. “We didn’t try to do too much. We just passed the baton to the next guy and got the job done.”
Los Angeles finished with 15 hits in a 7-0 win over Texas.
Josh Lowe Delivers Against Jacob deGrom
Denzer Guzmán singled to open the second, and Lowe followed with a double. Adam Frazier drove in Guzmán with a one-out single.
Lowe was thrown out trying to score on the same play when Wyatt Langford made the throw from left field. Wade Meckler singled later in the inning, and Mike Trout drove in Frazier to make it 2-0.
deGrom threw 32 pitches in the inning. He reached 99 mph and got 10 whiffs during his two innings. The Rangers did not send him back out for the third.
Manager Skip Schumaker said afterward that he was not going to take a chance once he learned deGrom was feeling the tightness in his triceps.
Lowe’s double was the only extra-base hit among the Angels’ 15 hits.
Los Angeles Angels Add Four More Runs In Fifth
The Angels scored 4 times against Jordan Montgomery in the fifth. Trout singled to begin the inning. Nolan Schanuel and Vaughn Grissom followed with singles, loading the bases for Guzmán.
Guzmán brought home a run with an infield single. Lowe then singled in 2 more, and Jose Siri drove in another with a groundout.
Lowe went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Trout and Guzmán had 3 hits apiece. All nine hitters in the Angels’ starting lineup had at least one hit.
Rookie Walbert Ureña handled the other side of the game with 6 scoreless innings. He allowed 2 hits, walked 2 and struck out 5 before three Angels relievers finished the shutout.
Ureña said after the game that deGrom was one of his favorite pitchers growing up.
Texas finished with 5 hits and no extra-base hits. The Rangers also went without a hit with runners in scoring position.
Los Angeles lost the first game of the series before winning the next three. The Angels took three of four from Texas at Angel Stadium.
Lowe had a hit in both of the innings in which Los Angeles did most of its scoring. His second-inning double came during the five-hit stretch against deGrom, and his fifth-inning single brought home 2 runs.
